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Shorthanded Kings pound Mavs

Dec 10, 2013 - 7:09 AM Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - In a game where the shorthanded Kings were expected to struggle against a surging Mavericks team, Sacramento's new core made a statement to the rest of the league and perhaps its newest player, Rudy Gay.

DeMarcus Cousins tallied 32 points and 19 rebounds, Derrick Williams netted a career-high 31 points and Isaiah Thomas scored 24 to go with a career-best 12 assists as the Kings routed Dallas, 112-97, from Sleep Train Arena.

"We didn't care if we had 10 or 15 players, we had enough talent to win this game," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Our next challenge is to figure out the new guys and how they're going to play and at what position."

Prior to the game, the Kings announced the acquisition of Gay, along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray from the Toronto Raptors, but the trio was inactive for this tilt, leaving the Kings with just 10 healthy players on the active roster. All three are expected to be available for Sacramento on Wednesday against the Jazz.

Greivis Vasquez, Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson and John Salmons were sent to Toronto in the deal. All four have started games for the Kings this season.

Monta Ellis had 21 points to pace Dallas, which had its three-game winning streak come to an end. Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

"I don't think we took them lightly, I think they just outplayed us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was one of those nights where they made a lot more plays than we did."

After Jose Calderon's triple made it 61-56 in favor of the Kings three minutes into the second half, Thomas fueled an 8-0 Sacramento run.

The Kings gradually added to their lead throughout the period, which ended with Thomas sinking three free throws after Ellis fouled him attempting a trey with 2.7 seconds remaining. Sacramento took a comfortable 92-73 lead into the fourth, and Travis Outlaw's 3 early in the frame put it away.

Earlier, Sacramento jumped out to a 34-19 lead late in the first before Ellis ended the period with four straight points.

Dallas clawed back to tie the game at 38-38 early in the second and it went ahead on a Nowitzki trey at 6:57, but Jason Thompson's three-point play capped a 13-0 burst for Sacramento later in the quarter.

The Kings led 57-47 after 24 minutes.

Game Notes

Sacramento won the rebounding margin, 51-39. The Kings also set a season-high with the 51 boards ... The Kings scored 23 points in transition while Dallas managed just five ... Sacramento point guard Ray McCallum scored his first NBA points on a jumper with 51.6 seconds left in the game.